Michael K. Williams "never felt more ugly" in the aftermath of his facial scar

In an extract of his posthumously published memoir, 'Scenes From My Life', shared in PEOPLE magazine, Michael wrote "the cut healed into one big swollen line and I never felt more ugly.'

The '12 Years A Slave' star - who died from a fentanyl overdose in 2021 aged 54 - detailed how he got the scar on Jamaica Avenue after he tried to defend a friend in a bar fight and how he approached one of the men while he stood alone, writing: "In a flash, he smacked me across the face. I put my hand to my forehead. Then I saw the dark liquid on my fingers. The guy hadn't been slapping me. He had been cutting me open."

Michael wrote: "Strangers would stop me on the street and say they found my scars striking. I began to get gigs in music videos, not even to dance," including a request from David LaChapelle to photograph him and being cast by Tupac Shakur from his headshot alone to play his younger brother in his film debut, 'Bullet' in 1996.

The 'Boardwalk Empire' star - who is survived by his son Elijah - admitted that the scar made him stand out and appear like a "tough guy,"

which he denied actually being in reality.

Michael added: "I guess the scar gave me an 'edge'. It made me look like the tough guy I wasn't."